Around Kexwith Moor

Distance: approx. 23 miles
Difficulty: Difficult/Long
Walk Source: Ordnance Survey Explorer Map OL30 and gps-routes.co.uk

A couple of weekends ago I decided to get my (new) tent out and go for a long walk - to get away from all the stresses of the city and to get a bit more time away than just on a day's walk. So on a rainy Saturday morning I packed my rucksack and set off for my great adventure. I had hoped that maybe the weather would improve as I drove north, but no such luck. 

After about 60 miles (just north of Scotch Corner) I turned off the main road and headed towards the village of Barningham, carefully navigating the small lakes that had formed on the country lane. I drove though the village, and found a lay-by just where the houses ended, where I was assured by a very friendly local man on tractor that it would be ok to park for the weekend. 

After some last-minute rearranging of my rucksack I was ready to set off in the rain, only then realising that the fog was moving in closer. I considered for a moment the wiseness of my walk, but decided that since there were no steep cliffs involved, and since there are houses and villages scattered everywhere, I was not in any immediate danger even in the fog. And if it got too bad I could always turn back. 

So off I went, past an old gentleman walking his dog who assured me that the weather could only get worse, and past a few remote farms. The bridleway soon took me into a wood and past a horse-farm, where I met a beautiful little dachshund and his two owners who were out hunting pheasants. They looked a little bewildered by my rucksack, then looked at the clouds and shook their heads, but were very friendly about it. In their eyes I must have looked like a typical crazy city-dweller; after all, who would want to be out in the rain if they didn't absolutely have to? 

Now, according to my map, I should be cutting through the woods to join a road on the other side. The only problem was that someone had stolen the forest. There were plenty of forestry-machines, and piles of logged trees, but not so much in the way of trees still standing. So I guestimated my way though what can only be described as a mud-bath, before finding solid ground again and setting off in search of the road supposedly located on the other edge of the missing wood. Unfortunately the fog was so thick at this point that it was impossible to see any further than a couple of metres ahead, but suddenly, to my great relief, the road was there before me. I turned left, and followed the road over a little hill and past a bend, and then I set off into the rather wet undergrowth again. 

What was supposed to be little streams were now quite a lot larger rivers, so I made a small detour on my route towards the top of a ridge, where I had planned to spend the night. The hill was quite steep for my already tired legs (am not used to carry a backpack), but I eventually got to the top, and started looking for a place to bed down. Avoiding the scariest-looking sheep, and also the wettest part of the bog, I managed to find a rather lovely and sheltered spot where I erected my tent and dived in (the rain was properly chucking it down by this time). 

The next morning I awoke to beautiful sunshine and a stunning view (the fog had been too thick for me to appreciate this the previous evening). And after breakfast I set off again on my trek. I kept to the top of the ridge, and then gradually turned inland on small paths over the moors, before joining a bridleway that took me first over a beautifully purple moor then through a lusciously green valley. I then climbed the other side-wall of the dale, and decided that this was such a beautiful spot I couldn't possibly walk past it. So I set up house and sat down to enjoy the sunset and my dinner.

After a good night's sleep I peeped out of my tent to discover that the lovely sunshine of the day before had gone, and instead I had a cloudy day ahead of me. By the time I'd had my breakfast and was ready to move on the first raindrops were falling, but by this point I really didn't care. I felt more relaxed than I had done all summer, and with such beautiful views who can get upset over a few raindrops? Sadly the few raindrops turned into sheets of sideways rain, but wandering through the fields and past derelict farms I couldn't help enjoying myself and the solitude. 

Eventually I made it back to the car, and had to face the real world again. 

Wharram Percy

Distance: 2.5 miles (4km)
Difficulty: Easy 
Walk Source: Walk 3 in the 'Vale of York and the Yorkshire Wolds' pathfinder guide

 About half an hour or so out of York, along the A166, is the remains of a little medieval village; Wharram Percy. It sits in a quiet and beautiful valley in the Yorkshire Wolds, protected from high winds and with its own fish-pond. There are many footpaths around, so if you've got a map you can choose any number of variations on the walk.

I chose to more or less follow the path described in my guide-book, except that I did it back to front. There is a well kept car park near Bella farm, and from there you can follow signs down to the old village. The path gradually descends past a field, and crosses a small stream before reaching the English Heritage property. Admission is free, and the property is open all year round.

The first thing that greets you is the large house that accommodated the workers, and later the archaeologists who worked on the site for many many years. Behind that is the ruins of the village church, still quite impressive, with all four walls more or less there. Some graves are also still intact, with beautiful old gravestones.

The pond has been recreated to its old glory, and from there you head uphill towards the ridge of the little valley. There is a lovely view over the Vale of York extending from the village, and as you turn left at the small wooded area you get to walk alongside this view. From there it's not a long walk back to the car park; after turning left where you meet the tarmacked road you walk along a field for a while and then suddenly you are back where you started.

Scampston Walled Gardens

This walk is technically more of a garden wander than the sort of walk I normally undertake, but it was so pretty I wanted to share it with you anyway.

Scampston is a little village outside of Malton, North Yorkshire, on the road to Scarborough. When you get there, you see a small green sign to the walled gardens, and you’ll have to think and react rather quickly, as you don’t have much time before you are at the road’s turnoff. You’re taken down a little track through the old village, and after a few turns and bends you arrive at the gardens. Car parking is free, on a green grass lawn just outside the entrance.

I have to admit that I did not expect the cafe and shop by the entrance to be as new and modern as it was. And very welcoming and friendly-feeling it was too. We started off with a rest in the cafe; delicious scones with clotted cream and jam, and a beautiful sparkly elderflower cordial. Very refreshing.

 Feeling refreshed and energised, we wandered out into the walled garden. The ticket price was £8 per adult for entry to both the garden and the cascading circuit (a stroll past the house and through the wider gardens). 

We were first greeted by a long path between the outer wall and a thick green hedge. Along the wall were flowers of all sorts and colours, and at once I fell into peace, it was such a calm place; perfect as an introduction to the gardens.

As we rounded the corner, the garden opened up in all its glory; a sea of purple and green swaying gently in the breeze. And in the middle of the hedged-in square, four trees with individual benches in between. Beautiful.

There were several compartments to the garden; there were vegetables, and some trimmed hedges in fancy shapes, some wild-flowers and cottage garden style plants. There was even a little pond in one corner.

After spending some time in the walled garden (the lady selling tickets had advised that we would use about 45 minutes in there, but it was more like an hour and a quarter), we went in search of the circuit walk. We easily found the entrance to it just where we had been told it would be, to the left outside the main entrance.

We walked down the shadowy path between some large trees and the garden wall, and I wasn’t so sure this would be an interesting walk, but soon we came back into the sunshine, and I felt a lot better about it. We approached the house, which was closed off and marked as private. It had a bit of an eerie feel to it, as if it was all alone and abandoned, with all the curtains closed and no movement anywhere. Luckily the lawn in front of the house was pretty, and we came across both flower borders, and a rockery. And a bit further along was a newer part of the house, which looked inhabited and modernised. Soon we came to a water feature, one of those little houses with Greek columns, which was actually a bride over some water. I wasn’t quite sure if it was a small lake or a river, although the map had it marked as a lake. We crossed the bridge, and meandered along the other side of the lake until it was time to cross it again, this time on a small and narrow bridge.

The last bit of path was though an open field with some huge trees of various descriptions, and soon we were back where we had started, and traced out steps back to the main entrance and cafe, where we sat down in the sunshine with a well deserved (we thought) ice cream each.   

The walk within the walled garden was easy on the legs, and would be very suitable for buggies and wheelchairs. The cascading circuit would be a bit more tricky; the grass was a bit long in places, and also a bit narrow. But some of it could be done, at least around the house and on the gravelled tracks. 

Wheldrake

Distance: 6 miles / 9.6 km

Difficulty: Easy 
Walk Source: City of York Council’s ‘Walks in York’ number 6.

Today was finally a bright and sunny day, after another week of what seemed like endless rain. I wasn’t quite sure where to go, but I knew I wanted to get out of the city for some fresh air. I had recently found some new details of walks near York, and decided it would have to be one of those.

I set off for Wheldrake, which is just outside the city, so I was soon there. The start of the walk was easy to find, just follow the signs for the Village Hall near the school, then turn into Broad Highway and park where the houses end. It was quite a quiet area, so I had no problem parking. The first bit of the walk was along the road out of the village, but it was a very quiet road, so this was not a problem. I followed the road until I came to a cluster of houses on the left-hand side, where I followed a footpath sign leading to the left around the houses. There, I found a couple of stiles. After climbing these I found myself on a muddy path going through a small forest.

After a little while the path opened up to a field, where I turned right for a few steps before heading across it towards Sparrow Hall Farm. There was supposed to be a path though the field, but was somewhat of an overstatement. The only evidence of the path was the odd old footprint on the mud, it was rather overgrown. But I fought my way through and eventually I emerged at the farm. From there I followed a track towards Wheldrake Lane. Here I turned right and followed the lane for about 300 meters before turning right onto a path towards Gothic House Farm. Here I followed the path for quite a while, until reaching another farm, and turning right towards the direction of Benjy Lane. This took me out onto Wheldrake Lane again, a bit closer to Wheldrake than where I had joined it earlier.

Following Wheldrake Lane was not exactly the nicest part of the walk, there was quite a bit of traffic, and only a thin verge to walk on. Luckily I reached the village soon enough. The village of Wheldrake is lovely and charming, wonderfully well kept with little cottages along the main road. After a stroll through the village I was back by the car, just in time to avoid the rain which had decided to come back for another treat. 

Londesborough

Distance: 3 ¼ miles / 5.2 km

Difficulty: Easy 
Walk Source: Walk 7 in the Jarrold Short Walks book: 'In and around the Vale of York'

After what seemed like weeks of rain, today was finally a sunny day, and I rushed home after work to get out for a walk before it got too late. I set off just before the worst of the traffic started, and after about 40 minutes I was nearing Londesborough. The walk started at the Towthorpe Corner Picnic Site, which, if you arrive from the direction of the A1079, is on the A614 just after roundabout by Karelia Cars. The picnic spot is easy to miss, as the sign for it is very small, but there are plenty of spaces where you can turn around if you need to, like I did.

The first thing to do is to cross the A614, then head along a field and onto a road. Soon the path heads downhill on a grassy track towards two small lakes. There is a little bridge to cross the path between the lakes, and then the path heads uphill again towards the village. The green was a deer park in the 18^th century, when the rich owners of the village used to arrange shooting parties for their friends. As you near the top of the hill you can see the deer shelters, where it is thought that the deer used to shelter and eat.

Next up is a detour to the village of Londesborough. This is an absolutely lovely charming village, with well kept gardens and pretty houses. Many of the houses have the Londesborough cipher on them, and are decorated with very pretty bargeboards. The village church rests between trees in the bottom corner of the village, and is surrounded by the graveyard where Thomas Knowlton, the gardener who designed the park, was buried after his death in 1781. It has a 10^th century Anglo-Danish sundial and cross, and a Norman doorway.

After the village the walk backtracks to where the path left the green fields, and carries on downhill on the grassy banks towards a little stream. It then goes uphill again, and crosses a large field, with scattered trees around. I lost track of the path for a little while, but found it again slightly further to the right than where I was. Eventually I made it to the small lake, and crossed by a bridge. There was a warning sign saying there were cows with calves in the field ahead, making me a little worried, but thankfully there were only sheep with their lambs.

Finally I found myself on the track where I had started off, and I doubled back towards the car. It was a lovely walk, surprisingly restful and unspoilt for such a farmed landscape. The park is relatively small, but as it turns out large enough to make a circular walk suitable for an evening stroll. It took me about an hour and a half to complete the walk, but as I only ambled I’m sure it can be done in a lot less. There is a bit of up and down, and after heavy rainfall some slippery grass and muddy patches, so good footwear would be recommended. However, the hills are sloping, so not too strenuous.